ST. LOUIS – It took two-and-a-half years after winning the title, but Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem proved he deserves to wear the belt.

Overeem looked absolutely dominant in a first-round TKO of opponent Brett Rogers in the main event of Saturday’s “Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery.”

The bout capped off the evening’s Showtime-broadcast event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

The massive heavyweights opened the bout patiently, but it was Overeem who dictated the early action. Low kicks and knees in the clinch left Rogers retreating, and Overeem stalked his prey.

In a brief clinch, Overeem simply tossed Rogers to the floor, and the beginning of the end was near.

Overeem controlled Rogers on the canvas, patiently delivering punches and elbows while passing out to side control and keeping Rogers pinned on the canvas. Trapping Rogers against the cage, Overeem postured and delivered a series of powerful hooks on the floor that forced referee “Big” John McCarthy to halt the contest following ample warnings.

The final stats for the bout echoed the dominance. Overeem landed 54 of the 79 strikes he threw. Rogers answered with just one successful strike out of 14.

Overeem (33-11 MMA, 3-0 SF), who earned the 28th first-round stoppage of his career and now has eight-straight wins overall. Rogers (10-2 MMA, 2-2 SF), who looked far less impressive than he did in a valiant effort against Fedor Emelianenko, has now dropped two-straight fights.

Emelianenko fights Fabricio Werdum in June, and a win would seem to dictate a matchup with the “Demolition Man” and “The Last Emperor,” though the likelihood of the contest remains in question.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski answered lingering questions regarding his chin, but the Belarusian still has yet to taste victory since 2008.

Silva set the tone early in the fight. While Arlovski striking looked crisp and fast, Silva answered back with powerful counterstrikes that found their mark on his opponent’s bearded chin.

Silva slowed in the latter rounds, and Arlovski’s best frame was the second, but he never threatened to finish the fight. Instead, he simply battled in the clinch to remain standing while trying to push the action on the feet.

The fight was in the balance in the third, but Silva appeared to stay just a bit busier and mixed in a nice takedown during the frame. In the end, it was enough to take the fight on all three judges’ cards, 29-28.

Silva (14-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) rebounds from a disappointing loss to Werdum in November 2009, and he has openly lobbied for a rematch – or a shot at Emelianenko. Meanwhile, Arlovski (15-8 MMA, 0-2 SF) has now dropped three-straight contests and is in dire need of a win to maintain relevance.

Brazilian contingent 3-0 in main-card action

Grappling ace Ronald “Jacare” Souza left little doubt as to who was the better fighter on Saturday night, but veteran middleweight striker Joey Villasenor left no doubt as to the strength of his heart.

Villasenor showed ample defensive wrestling in spots, but Souza’s takedowns proved too much in all three rounds of the contest. Villasenor was on his back early and often, and Souza threatened with multiple submission attempts. Nevertheless, Villasenor worked himself free from several threatening positions.

Souza appeared to tire as the action progressed, but the result never seemed in question. Once again showing improved striking on the feet as well as aggression in all aspects of the game, Souza controlled the action throughout and was awarded a unanimous-decision win.

Souza (12-2 MMA, 2-0 SF) sees the final bell for the first time in his career, though the performance did little to minimize his stock. Villasenor (27-7 MMA, 2-2 SF) sees a four-fight win streak halted, though he certainly earned another look in the organization.

Recent outings by Renzo and Rolles in the UFC had left the Gracie family name a bit besmirched. Light heavyweight Roger Gracie did his best to earn back some respect.

Facing Kevin Randleman, a former UFC champion who owns just two wins in the past six years, Gracie started the bout a bit uninspired. Content to jab softly while keeping Randleman at bay, Gracie did little to claim the opening round. That changed in the second.

Working from the clinch, Gracie landed a knee to the head that dropped Randleman. Gracie followed to the canvas and flashed his grappling brilliance on the floor.

Moving swiftly to the back, Gracie locked his legs around his opponent’s body and began to look for the choke. Randleman deftly defended the move for a time and earned points for his submission defense, but it was just a matter of time. The arm eventually found it’s way under the neck, and “The Monster” was forced to tap with 50 seconds left in the second frame.

Gracie (3-0 MMA, 1-0 SF), who has fought just three times since his December 2006 debut, remains undefeated. Randleman (17-15 MMA, 0-2 SF) has now dropped three-straight contests and is just 3-10 in his past 13 outings.

Light heavyweight contender Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante was once considered among the top 205-pound prospects in the game, but a 2009 loss to Mike Kyle left some questions as to his commitment to success.

Cavalcante addressed those questions in a first-round win over an always tough Antwain Britt.

After some early jostling for position, Britt unleashed a flurry of punches to the body and uppercuts to the chin that staggered Cavalcante. But Britt couldn’t finish, and a Cavalcante clinch led to a restart. It was all “Feijao” needed.

Cavalcante delivered a powerful overhand right that staggered Britt, and a continued flurry dropped “The Juggernaut” and forced the end of the bout at the 3:45 mark of the first frame.

Cavalcante (9-2 MMA, 2-1 SF) has now put together two-straight wins and appears to be a prime contender for champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. Meanwhile, Britt (11-4 MMA, 1-1 SF) loses by TKO for the first time in his career.

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